UK improves technology training

The government-backed E-skills UK body has launched its Sector Skills Agreement (SSA) for IT to encourage more young people into technology careers and ensure IT courses are in line with current business requirements.

E-skills UK aims to meet corporate demand for graduates who have a better mix of technical and business talents by launching a new degree course with a focus on areas such as project control. The IT Management for Business degree will begin this September in four universities, and will be rolled out to a further 17 institutions by 2008.

The government has also pledged £8.4m for a nationwide rollout of the Computer Clubs for Girls (CC4G) scheme in schools, in response to the relatively low numbers of women pursuing IT careers.

And new vocational IT diploma has been designed to develop IT skills required for day-to-day jobs.

E-skills UK hopes the schemes will increase the number of employees qualified in IT. In 2002 just 8,800 new technology graduates entered a sector estimated to need 179,000 new entrants each year.

Speaking at the launch, government minister for skills Phil Hope warned that the CC4G scheme would fail without support from the business community. He argued that private sector investment in the SSA was not just a philanthropic gesture but would deliver "huge bottom-line benefits" as a growing number of technologically-skilled graduates enter the workplace.

Christina Hartshorn of the South East England Development Agency, which piloted the CC4G scheme, supported a call for businesses to provide volunteers, software and content advice as well as work placements for students on the new university course.

IBM, EDS, Ford and British Airways are among the businesses that have already pledged their support for the SSA schemes. But more employers are still needed if the scheme is to be widely successful, according to E-skills UK. Jane Lewis of Cisco, which is also working with E-skills UK, welcomed the new initiatives but warned that companies must not rely on the public sector to tackle skills shortages.

Speaking on the eve of the SSA launch at a meeting hosted by IT trade group Comptia, she said government was "not a bottomless pit [of money]", adding that businesses also have a responsibility to improve internal training efforts.